Comparison Shopping

The White Sox spotted the Astros two wins on the season, 93 vs. 95, and lost the ALDS in four games. The Braves spotted the Astros eight wins and took them four games to two in the World Series. Apparently, some underdogs play better than others. Atlanta general manager Alex Anthopoulos could be excued had he thrown in the towel midway through the season, after the Braves suffered season-ending injuries to outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. and pitcher Mike Soroka; in addition, outfielder Marcel Ozuna was both injured in late May and then put on what turned out to be season-long administrative leave stemming from domestic violence charges. Not a good situation by any means. So, what did Anthopoulos do? He went out at the trade deadline and acquired Adam Duvall; Joc Pederson; Eddie Rosario; and Jorge Soler. Duvall and Pederson helped carry their new team into the postseason where Rosario (NLCS MVP) and Soler (World Series MVP) took over. I hope Anthopoulos is adding a shelf in his office for the awards that should be coming his way. And Sox GM Rick Hahn would do well to consider where he went wrong. Oh, Hahn was busy at the trade deadline, too, picking up Cesar Hernandez, Ryan Tepera and Craig Kimbrel. Out of that trio, only Tepera acquitted himself will. With the other two, it's more a case of, when’s your flight out of town? The Braves had to deal with one other injury, losing starter Charlie Morton to a broken leg in the first game of the Series; credit Atlanta manager Brian Snitker with guiding his team across the finish line. Like Charlie Brown trick-or-treating, we got Tony LaRussa.